Antonio Brown issues apology for filming Mike Tomlin’s post-game speech

Antonio Brown’s live stream of his team’s locker room celebration caused a stir among the Pittsburgh Steelers. He has since issued an apology.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have the best offensive trio in the NFL in Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger. They made it to the final four this year, but the reason it took them this long is because they could never stay healthy. Last year in particular, Bell got injured before the playoffs while Vontaze Burfict took out Brown in the first round. But now that they’re together, they’re wreaking havoc on the rest of the AFC.

Antonio Brown has been absolutely vital to his team’s success in the playoffs. He’s posted back-to-back 100-yard games and has two touchdowns through the first two rounds. But after beating the Kansas City Chiefs, the main topic of conversation wasn’t on his excellent play, it was on the fact that he live streamed the Steelers’ locker room on Facebook.

It sounds like a non-story, but Mike Tomlin and Brown’s teammates didn’t take to it very well because it was a violation of team policy. They also had to field numerous questions about it, which had to take away from their preparation against the New England Patriots. Brown recognized all of that, and has since issued this classy apology on his Twitter account:

After seeing Odell Beckham get roundly criticized for Boat Gate, Brown should’ve known better than to take out his phone in the middle of the Steelers’ locker room. It shouldn’t have been a big deal for either of them, but it is because of their name value.

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Beckham and Brown are two of the league’s premier wide receivers, and whatever they do or say will automatically become news. It’s a double-edged sword in that regard. While Mike Tomlin and Ben McAdoo love what they do on the field, they know that their actions can become a distraction to their teammates.

With the Patriots looming, the Steelers need to devote all of their resources towards figuring out how to beat them. If they can, then there’s a good chance Tomlin will be able to look past this incident.